


Rabbit

by xiaodol (Shining_Hikikomori)



Series: bright moon [1]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Blood and Gore, Cults, Friends to Lovers, Mild Language, Multi, Mystery, Urban Fantasy, yeah... sorry bout that
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-20
Updated: 2020-05-11
Packaged: 2021-02-28 18:13:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,797
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23221522
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shining_Hikikomori/pseuds/xiaodol
Summary: After a string of disappearances in their town leads to a bit of unrest, the Baudelaire sect is on edge. When someone inevitably comes for the lower matriarch of the sect, things take a turn for the worse. Forced to turn to the Yue sect for help, they must find the missing kids all while trying to stay alive.
Series: bright moon [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1683247
Kudos: 1





	1. whiplash hurts but so does standing still

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tw for mild cursing and a bit of blood towards the end.

Of all the days that had gone by thus far, this was most definitely the slowest one. Dreadful in a way that it made the day drag on and on until one wasn’t sure how much time had passed, just that it had felt awfully longer than it ought to. That, in which of course priorly described, was the type of day Cecile had been experiencing and it was perhaps the worst thing she had dealt with in her 17 years of living. 

Perhaps there could have been worse things but nonetheless, it was never a feeling that one liked to experience. No, she’d rather be outside practicing talisman drawing or studying so that she could perfect her physics grade instead of dealing with calculus class once more. It wasn’t that she hated the class, more so that she wasn’t fond of the time after their lesson where they had nothing to do but sit around, and Cecile brimming with anticipation for the day to be over.

“Henry, how much longer do we have of this horrid class?” Looking over at her moron of a desk partner, she caught the tail end of the glow that the sun lit window provided on his honey brown hair before that same sun hid behind a cloud once more.

“About two minutes after the last time you had asked, and of what rush do you have today? For all we are doing is going to the café once more, if my memory serves me well, as it so often does.” He snorted, lazily flicking his hair so that he could see her once more, and simply stared at her.

“Sometimes I do think you are full of yourself Mister Xia.” Henry just shook his head in resignation and gently placed his head back on the table before turning to face her and speaking once more.

“Are Emmeline and Lavinia joining us? I do suppose it wouldn’t do us much good to just go alone, the two of us, that is, but I would like to see what art the person puts in your latte this time whether those two decide to join us or not. Do you wish to inquire whether he likes you or not? I don’t suppose he does, but even so, those designs are rather cute if I might add.” Tinkering laughter could be heard from him even through disappointed looks that she had sent him. All he got was a sniff in response, seeing that she judged him not worthy of a response once more. And to start math once more it was decided, seeing as their distraction was no longer holding power over them as it once had. 

Various scratching sounds could be heard from around the room as each student worked on the aforementioned math, although worked may have been a bit of a strong word, seeing as over half of the students were either staring off into a vague middle distance or doing more talking than writing. Such a thing would have been tantalizing to Cecile, as she wasn’t one to actually do math in the allotted time, preferring to scramble at the final seconds to get it done, but she had no desire to think of such a wretched thing in the later parts of the day and simply opted to do it in class for once.

Of course, once more, a day could not go by without some sort of interruption, where it be someone sticking paper airplanes in the ceiling or someone else eating cereal in the middle of class. Supposing that one would of course be illogical, as normal days were far and few between. So of course, in between the eating of a vegetarian burrito, the discussion of the difference between a wrap and burrito, and the slipping of someone’s test grade under the projector (the score was an 8 out of 100, and how someone managed to get that alluded Cecile completely), an underclassman slipped in and gave her a letter, complete with an wax seal. Gaudy as usual, she was never sure if the design was ironic or not, and never remembered to ask, and probably never would for that matter.

“Clemonte.” The telltale fragrance lingered on the note and she never understood why the sender sprayed it on the letter, but they were a sight to behold once completed. She nodded at the underclassman, who took their leave. Gently opening the letter, which contained the following.

_“To Whom This May Pertain,_

_“Hello darling, I assume thine is once more avoiding math work. I should be disappointed, but my heart knows that you would be doing such once more, and therefore no longer feel like I should judge that of you. Yes, Emmeline and I will join you this afternoon, even if it is rather cold and I do not wish to be outside, as I so often don’t, but alas, woe is me and I have fallen to my love’s charm and will follow you. The food is good, and I suppose the company is as well, per usual._

_“Henry ought to know that we are going to get him a new glasses chain on our outing, seeing as we must all be aligned in look, and that prevents us on some days. I shall pay once more, so do inform him of that before he throws a fit. Doth thee have any other stops that we should make along the way? If so, do tell with due haste. And before I may forget, we shall meet in The Vibe Room, and depart promptly at 2:55_

_“Sincerely,_

_“Reader, Make Your Judgement”._

Staring at the aforementioned paper as if suddenly there would appear new words in a familiar scrawl, she sighed once more and closed it, folding it along the creases that Lavinia had already made by mailing.

“Vibe Room?” She merely nodded in response to Henry’s question, who sighed as well. “I suppose it is for the best and while we are at it, do you know how much longer our class is? Unless I am mistaken, I do believe there is someone blocking my view of the clock this time, and now, it is your turn to see what time it is.” He lazily reached over and flicked her hair, as if that would somehow speed up the process of her reading the clock.

“Unless my eyes fail me, about two minutes, and I assume you just want to leave? I can’t stand it here much longer and I do not wish to do this math.” He simply gave his sign, and she stored her letter in the messenger bag, along with a binder, pens, and various other tools that one typically needed for a calculus class (and while she knew she shouldn’t do math in pen, she had lost her pencils somewhere through the course of the day.)

And he, watching this, gathered his things and strode to the door, delicate chain clinking ever so slightly against his glasses as he moved. Cecile liked the noise, as it often reminded her that he was simply just there. Scratching at the various bandages on her arms, she sighed lightly before opening the door enough for both her and Henry to slip out almost unnoticed. 

“Vibe time?”

“Vibe time.” Was simply all he said before exiting the class.

The halls weren’t quite empty, a few students loitering every few yards, but… quieter than it was about to become. The monotonous design of the school was a bleak reminder of how many years they had been here, and how no matter where you went, you always ended up in the same place. Sometimes one wonders if they will ever be able escape, and they aren’t quite sure they will ever find an answer. You miss it when you’re gone but while you’re there, it’s utter hell.

There have always been some oddities about the place, but one supposes it is simply just high school after all.

Perhaps it was a mistake to name it the Vibe Room, but as they had named themselves the Vibe Cult, it seemed most fitting that their main place of chaos would be named rather close to what their name was. Simply something to make you feel better even on the darkest of days. Cecile supposed that it was… an odd sort of sentiment that they felt for the room, but it mattered not in the grand scheme of things. Up a flight of stairs, down the dreary halls of monotonous lockers, the standardized appearance sucking out the soul of anyone who happened to inhabit them. The same look, the same mold. Past them, take a left into the chemistry room, and there shall be a door. Behind it will be what they call the vibe room.

Pale cream-colored walls, with light blue accents that would go with the cabinets, those of which were the same in every other room of the school. An unused lab table was in the center surrounded by chairs as it was. Stepping into the room was something akin to being in their own realm, away from the problems, away from their troubles, away from everything. As he proceeded into the room, Henry slumped against the wall, tired lines around his eyes becoming more prominent than they had been before. Cecile knew hers would have shown a bit more now than they usually did in the halls.

“So now we wait? I do hope they shall be fast, but seeing their history, that is highly unlikely, but nonetheless we shall hope.” His satchel was thrown onto the lab counter. “I do wonder how much longer it shall be until they decide to make their way over to us. How long are you willing to bet, that is to say the length of time, and amount of money as well, I suppose?” Cecile was not quite sure, if she must say, as their darling friends were rather awful at showing up on time, but one supposed, they should wait. Time passed, as it so often did, the bell had rung, and the noise of the exiting students could be heard all throughout the building, each just as eager to leave the hellscape that was their school. “Have you heard of the missing kid? I suppose you have; he was from the same sect as you were, and well to do at that. I do wonder whatever did happen to him.”

Truthfully, Cecile did hear about the missing person, and she would have rather not think about it. She had seen him just hours before he vanished, and if you looked over the bushes in her backyard, you could see his house. “Something doesn’t sit right with me, if I am to be honest. He… Leon, he wasn’t one to vanish at the drop of a hat, and he wasn’t one to run away either, and I do suppose he can take care of himself, but gods it is still terrifying.” Henry merely hummed and nodded, listening to the sound of footsteps approaching the door, and those footsteps were those of which he knew to be Lavinia’s and Emmeline’s. “Ah, I do suppose they are here, would you mind getting the door?” 

“Our guest, madam.” He bowed to her in a way that she knew he was poking fun at her, just to make her feel a bit better. He opened the door, and both Emmeline and Lavinia tumbled into the room. Giving a long-suffering sigh, they helped the two girls up and exchanged formalities. For a split second, something feels off about the room, as if there was a shadow or ghost passing through all of them. It feels as though suddenly there is a great presence in the room, one which they can’t name, but only knew that it is only there to hurt them. Even so, as strong as the presence was, it was gone just as fast. They all wondered what they had felt. The lack of feeling something was rather what they could feel.

“Did… did you feel that? I didn’t like that all too much...” Emmeline was pulling lightly on Lavinia, pitch black eyes going wide and the black veins around them becoming even more pronounced. Lavinia only sighed and let herself be pulled along. Even if slightly annoyed, she was still wary of the mysterious presence. Cecile on the other hand trembled slightly before pulling a breath in to calm herself. Closing her eyes, she lifted her hand as if to write something with her finger in the air and scribbled out a note in a glowing script that was only there for a split second before disappearing. 

“We should tell Miri later before the elders, but for now I do suppose there isn’t anything that we can do.” She sighed and slung her rucksack across her shoulder and stood up. “Let’s get going for now, I don’t think it is all too safe to stay here much longer.” They all nodded and departed from the room.

The halls, at this point, were much clearer than they had been, the lighting dimmed and much, much quieter. Cecile looked at Henry, who simply shrugged, and picked up the pace down the short hallway. The narrow walls seemed to be much closer to each other now, and even if there was only one light turned off, the halls seemed all too dark.

Following suit, they all filled out, suitably cautious. By this point, they knew not to say much, and they continued downstairs, the darkened hallways shifting ever so slightly. Every shadow that moved, any flash of motion, a noise or shift heard, was terrifying to them. The eerie glow of the low lights casting a glow on everyday things that normally they wouldn’t look twice at, but now had suddenly become more sinister. Murmuring under her breath the incantation of a protection shroud, she channeled her energy through the small bracelet on her wrist in hopes that perhaps this could do something, although not sure if it would work, and desperately hoping it would.

At this point, the whole herd of them were doing their best to not sprint to the door, the glow of the outside against the frosted windows seeming so near yet so far and being unable to reach them was perhaps a bit frightening, but it was nonetheless rather close. Hurried footsteps could be heard from them, their nervousness becoming more apparent by the second. Twenty yard, fifteen yards, ten yards… closer and closer they came to the door, every breath that was being taken could be heard ever so clearly, every heartbeat, every movement. Three yards, one yard, and then they were there. Pushing open the first set of doors, they hurried to the second ones before flinging those open as well, before booking it down the lane and off of school grounds.

The sound of feet against pavement and the wind rushing by their ears was all that they could focus on. Tripping over their feet until they finally came to a stop, the lot of them out of breath, wheezing quietly while onlookers stared judgmentally at the group of teenagers who just came running out of their school. The time bled together as they caught their breath, leaning on whatever standing object was closest to them, whether it was a person or tree, they just huddled together.

“Well, I suppose that is just an average Tuesday for us,” Emmeline said whilst wheezing. “Are we still on for coffee? La Vie en Rose shan’t be open much longer.” Flipping her hair over her shoulder, she readjusted her backpack as if they were not previously fleeing from their school. Cecile gave a hum of affirmation before standing up, still leaning on Henry ever so slightly. On his end, Henry stood silent and let himself be used as a human post.

“Continue on as normal, I suppose that is all we shall do. I’ll draft what we will write to Miri about this incident there, but for now, proceed.” One arm behind her back, the other hanging loosely at her side, she walked on, as if nothing happened, and as if she wasn’t just leaning against her friend. Henry huffed and shook his head, looking down. This, however, caused him to notice a small object that had floated off of Cecile’s clothing and landing on the ground. Thinking not too much of it, he picked it up, and put it in his inner pocket, determined to investigate it at a later date.

“I assume we are postponing your glasses chain shopping for another day. It seems wrong to do it after that,” a soft voice spoke, a sound that seemed like a gentle breeze. Lavinia of course was the one to speak, in her usual tone, beautiful and light. Warmth radiated off her as she ruffled Henry’s hair, who once more simply huffed. Nonetheless, he kept smiling, as what else was one to do when in her presence?

“I suppose it shall be for the best,” he said, albeit a bit startled at the offer of a new glasses chain. “In the end, it simply just is. But alas, let us go to the cafe, after all, I do believe that we need a bit of normalcy after all that, even if normalcy isn’t something that we usually experience.” The rest simply nodded and moved on. Emmeline, still a bit shaken from earlier, has been fiddling with her mesh gloves, pulling as the parts around her wrists and twisting them. Noticing this, Lavinia put her hand over Emmeline’s and pushed it away from the gloves before interlacing their fingers together.

⊱ ━━━━.⋅❈⋅.━━━━⊰

“Did all of you bring your grimoires with you? I would rather hope so, if I am to be honest. I’d rather not be returning to school at this point in time.” Some time had passed, and there was less than a block left before the cafe came into sight. The rest of the group simply nodded, having kept theirs on their person. “Good, we may need them later, but for now I suppose that is nothing more than an afterthought.” Behind her, Lavinia reaches up and plucks a flower from a cherry tree and tucks it into Emmeline’s hair. Henry hides his smile behind his sleeve, and they continue to walk to the cafe, cherry blossoms both underfoot and overhead.

“I wonder if Alice is taking pictures of these… she has always loved the spring, as I have,” Henry murmured to no one in particular, simply stating something for the sake of saying it.

“Your sister probably is, do you think she’ll collect them like she did last year? The things she made were so lovely, and she was able to preserve them so beautifully with her aura. She’s a talented little one, you know.” Cecile turned her head to him as she spoke of this. “She’ll be very powerful one day, a lower matriarch I bet.” Henry smiled fondly at the words spoken of his younger sister, bowing his head slightly. 

“I hope she does.” He shook his head slightly, as if to clear out the sentimental thoughts, and hummed softly. At this, Cecile ruffled his hair and gave him a nod. She, like Lavinia, reached up to pluck a few blossoms off the trees and tucked them behind Henry’s ear. Henry just laughed at her while she stared blandly back at him and blinked her milky white eyes at him, followed by flicking him in the nose.

“Sorry, my hand slipped.” was the only explanation she gave before flicking her wrist to put it behind her back and keep on walking. As expected, Henry simply sighed and looked back at the rest of their friends, who were following them in tow. Watching their friends mill around and play with each other brought an unsoundly large amount of happiness, and Henry would like nothing more than to keep things like this forever. Perhaps love was not the right word for what he felt towards them, but he couldn’t quite think of the right one.

Lavinia arched a slitted eyebrow and pointed towards the cafe, saying nothing more than, “We’re here.” in a soft voice. Cecile dipped her head at Lavinia, who smiled in return and laughed a little, the high and tinkering sound carrying through the wind a great distance so that other passerbyers would turn slightly to see who caused such a lovely noise. The sign for La Vie en Rose came more clearly into view and Emmeline dipped so that her head was rested on Lavinia’s shoulder and hooked her arm around the other girl’s. 

The beige front of the cafe can be seen between the cherry trees, soft pink awning flowing delicately in the wind. Glass windows and doors show bits of the inside of the building, and among things that can be seen are the gauzy pale pink curtains that loosely fall against the windows. The bricks of the outside that are painted in the beige contrast with the dark tinted windows and pink accents, yet somehow the entire shop manages to not look tacky and more adorable instead.

The crosswalk to reach the cafe is next to a bike rack and busy intersection, many students using it after school to go various places, with the small college town being able to be easily walked around if one needed to go somewhere or was simply bored with their life. There was a group in front of them, having already arrived at the crosswalk before the latter came. The green light changes to red and the signpost changes from stop to walk. Groups going through the walkway to wherever they need to go, hanging onto their friends 

“I suppose we shall go now. It seems that our beloved cafe is going to be crowded rather soon, assuming it is not already. Although, given the crowd in which we are in, I do wonder how much more full the cafe would be,” Henry blathered on, no one paying any particular mind to him as he prattled on while walking across the street. 

Prim, bright Lavinia hurried (or rather as quickly as she thought to be proper) to the door and opened it so to usher the rest of her friends inside. Hair lighting up fire red in the spring sun, the green clips stood out strikingly so against it. Stepping over the threshold of the door, the smell of coffees and pastries baking hit them in the face, lazily creeping out of the shop and spreading to the surrounding areas. Cecile stuck her nose up and sniffed, rather loudly, not caring if people stared or judged her, simply content to soak up the bakery’s aroma.

“Shall we order soon? I’m feeling rather hungry and well… I’d not wait until the line grows all too much longer. Find a seat for us, you two, and Henry and I shall order for you both.” Lavinia nodded and rummaged around her messages bag before pulling out a wallet and producing three crisp bills.

“Green tea tart and strawberry latte, iced, for me please.” Cecile simply nodded in response to this and turned to Emmeline.

“Taro milk tea with cream cheese foam for me, I don’t understand why you bother to ask at this point really, I’ve gotten the same thing every time we’ve been here since we’ve started coming.” To this of course, the others snorted, and Cecile patted Emmeline on the head, who just laughed in response to her. The two retreated to find a table amongst the crowd of milling high school and college students. Cecile trotted over to the line, Henry following in tow, both not completely focused on the present and each zoning out as much as the other, although Henry was eyeing the cake display with little subtlety. She sighed, knowing once more that the other boy would most likely be on a sugar high later, but if it made him happy, she supposed she could suffer a bit.

The line moved rather quickly, and soon enough it was their turn to order. The oddest thing was the boy behind the register and his pink eyes. Odd in a way that they’d never seen him before, yet people seemed to accept the fact that he’d always been there. Because Henry was himself, this made him forget all the previous orders their friends had given them, causing Henry to look at Cecile in a way that said ‘I have forgotten what our friends told us they wanted and now you have to order for us’. However he managed to fit that all into one glance, she may never know, and in turn gave a long-suffering sigh before reciting the orders their friends had given them.

“One medium taro milk tea with boba and cream cheese foam, a strawberry iced latte, medium as well, and green tea tart.” She looked up to make sure the poor boy at the register got all of that, only to find him blinking innocently as if to say, ‘what’s next?’ “A caffe latte as well, hot please.”

“We have two roasts today, Indigo Moon and Falling Sun.” The boy, whose name tag said ‘Pretty Boy’ in lieu of an actual name, chirped at them.

“Indigo Moon please.” She then turned to Henry who was still staring off into a vague middle distance and was not paying attention in any capacity, his face looking like he wanted to do nothing more than fall asleep right there. The correct course of action Cecile deducted was to step none too lightly on his foot, causing a startled Henry to finally be aware of his surroundings.

“One medium iced condensed milk latte please and a slice of rainbow cream cheesecake please. Falling Sun for the roast, if you may.” Cecile just scoffed at this, knowing that even if he wasn’t there mentally, the day Henry wasn’t polite to a tee was the day the world ended. ‘Pretty Boy’ smiled at them and gave them their total, to which Cecile handed over the bills in her hand, some of which were her own.

“Okay, you’re order 142, have a good day.” Still smiling, Cecile finally noticed the other off-putting things about him, the sharp canines and pink tipped hair that seemed to float to its own breeze. Perhaps that is what was bugging her, but then again, perhaps not.

Henry and Cecile took to finding the table that Lavinia and Emmeline found for them, grateful to be away from the main stretch of people. Snuggly against a wall, the booth was situated so that most of the cafe goers could not see them, yet whoever sat there could see most of the cafe. Most of the reason for this came from the gaudy potted plant that was placed excessively close to the booth that blocked most everyone else from sight, but that was really neither here nor there. Indeed, there were other matters to deal with at hand. Sliding in next to Henry, who had already sat down, she quickly set up a silencing ward before sighing.

“One of these days someone ought to find a way to use a way to use auric magic without it flaring… there are dampeners of course, but one still has to flare to use them, and I do think that defeats the purpose of setting them in the first place.” Henry nodded along with her, as did Emmeline, albeit only half paying attention, as she was far more invested in twisting Lavinia’s hair around her fingers. Lavinia pretended to care, but whether she actually listened was rather up in the air due to her blank face. Perhaps now was not the right time to bring such things up. “Switching topics entirely, what should we do about the being in the school? I do wonder what it is, and if it is indeed as dangerous as we suspect it to be.”

“I have been pondering that as well, and if I am to be honest, I’m not sure what I would prefer the outcome to be. Do you think we would need to get another sect involved with this? If any one of them were to be joined with our forces on this, I’d rather the Yue sect as we have the strongest alliance with them.” Saying this, he set his head on his hands, blinking up at the rest of them. Sighing, Cecile reached down and patted the silky hair and pondered over this notion.

“While the Yue sect is the closest to us, I do believe it is too early to get another involved with this. We shall tell Miri and work from there.” Still nodding along with her, Emmeline wondered if perhaps her sister would know what to do, if at the very least maybe the right strings to pull, yet she did not voice this. 

“At any rate I doubt it will do much good to mull over this, seeing as it seems like we are getting nowhere, and most definitely not going forward. Shall we come back to this later when we are, I suppose, not in a cafe?” The others simply just agreed with her, Emmeline at this point having gotten bored and laid herself over the table, Lavinia staring at her with a small smile and ran her fingers through her hair. Being as it was, their short attention span led to them flopping over the table in rapid succession like dead fish. Lavinia alone being straight backed among their friends, the rest caring too little about their reputations to be embarrassed about their positions and would probably fight anyone who said otherwise.

“Oi, you can see the… other barista from here,” Emmeline said with what can only be described as a feral grin. Henry and Cecile instantly whipped their heads around to look for him, stretching the necks in an attempt to see him. “Wow, you have the subtlety of a giraffe in a tiny house.” To which they both whipped their heads back around and glared at her, to which she just held up her hand. “My bad your highnesses.” 

“Sometimes I don't like you.”

“Love you too,” her tone carrying the lilt of singsong mockery. Cecile could only snarl before looking away and slumping in her seat. Sometimes she thought that this was the timeline that god abandoned, whether or not that was true was doubtful. 

“Order 142!” Stilted words pulled them out of their own world and into the normal plane of existence, though if that was a good thing was yet to be discovered. 

“I do suppose we should gather the drinks, seeing as they are prepared for us now, and as such, we should go to them so that we can leave quickly.” Shoving her lightly in the arm, Henry attempted to get her to move once more, to rather disappointing results. Narrowed eyes and a low growl came from Cecile’s throat, giving little warning before she swatted him and promptly stood up. Eyes slitted, she stalked after him, who floated away, content that she was following him. Nonetheless, she sighed once more before flicking her right wrist behind her back in a sweeping motion that was far more grandiose than it needed to be and caused her to clip the edge of Henry’s arm in the process.

Weaving in between other tables, Cecile noted the cafe was rather empty for this time of day, which was most curious considering it was normally bustling with activity at this hour. The counter was no more than a few strides away from where they were sitting, the pristine white top adorn with small ornaments, as well as utensils for the customers. Organised perhaps in some manner, but that manner was not quite clear, but most definitely present. The silver trays lay among these things, carrying the various things that they had ordered. Another employee was staring intently at the tray with a blank look on his face, the emotion behind the stare rather hard to decipher. 

Whether or not he felt anything was a pointless matter to think of, seeing as they were too frightened to ask any questions of him, let alone pull any answers from him. ‘Pretty Boy’ could be seen from here, the lazy air of him contrasting greatly with the rushed pace in which he was moving. The other one, presumably named Kit, as once they were close enough, they could see his tag for the first time in weeks, but seeing as the other employees could change their names at will, it wasn’t certain if that was his name. At this moment, Kit continued to stare at her, blank gaze and bland expression giving out no emotion whatsoever. At long last, a name to give to their ice prince, who was so loved by their school for no reason whatsoever besides being pretty and inexplicably patient with the idiots of their school.

“Beanu! Get your pretty butt back here!” And apparently the ‘Pretty Boy’ had the Gaul to call him… Beanu? For whatever reason, the two behind were aghast, as he, that is to say the ‘Pretty Boy’, was about to get killed. But no, the other boy simply looked at him in his normal bland expression and returned to him, leaving the other two stunned. The pink haired boy swatted the other on the back and laughed at something, although if one was being honest that something was rather unclear. Rather shaken by this entire exchange, the two were left to weakly bring the drinks back to the table. Upon their return, Lavinia arched an eyebrow, yet didn’t say anything to them, which was most curious. 

“The newest worker seems to know our ‘ice prince’, and while I say that, I do remind you that I hate that name for him. Nonetheless, the other seems to be most familiar with the new person, who called him ‘Beanu’ without dying, which is a rather surprising thing I must add.” Instantly spilling everything, without so much as a prompt. Lifting up her head from where she lay face down, Emmeline reached to grab her drink.

“Most curious indeed. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him with anyone else in the halls, they all seem to be so scared of him,” she said whilst stirring her drink, the disinterest showing clearly in her face, yet not her words. Stirring her latte, she took the straw out and pointed it at them, irate, “seeing someone act so familiar with him is a rather large shock if I am being honest.” 

“I know, right? But who knows in the end I suppose.” More people filed outwards, yet not as many people came into the cafe as there should have been. There was a strange scent of heather that filtered in, disturbing the normal scent of baked goods, which, considering there was a lack of heather plants near the shop, was rather odd. A low sound could be heard in the shop, a thrumming noise that shook the entire shop, but well… perhaps not the oddest thing that happened in the town from time to time.

The heather scent became stronger, as the time passed. Continuing to eat, the sense of unease grew even larger, for no discernible reason whatsoever. Emmeline continued to sip on her drink, poking at the strawberries every so often. The syrupy substance stuck occasionally stuck to the sides of the glass, only to be drunk quickly by the person sticking the strawberries glass. 

Only once there was a second noise, did they startle. Instead of low and powerful this time, this time it was high and bone chilling. The sound reverberated through their bones, making it seem as if their skeleton was rattling against itself. It was almost like you could feel the sound pass through their bodies, shaking one to their core. It hurt so much, and the pore seemed to be a growing sense of unease through the group. 

There were less people here at this point, most having left already. The only others who were there were the two employees at this point. Scrambling out of their seats, the group left the booth only for them to be knocked down by a third howl. This howl was by far the strongest one, the sound ear piercing, it sounded as if pure pain was what created the noise. Wretched in the sense that it almost caused physical pain to anyone hearing it. 

Everyone who got up stumbled, Cecile crouching and covering her ears as if that would stop the pain of listening to the sound. There was the sound of glass shattering as Kit let go of the glass in his hands due to pure fright. As for the rest, Lavinia was curled into herself and looked as if she was going to puke and the pink haired boy’s hair was whipping back and forth even more fiercely, as if there was an unknown Stromboli’s happening that no one else could feel but him. Henry simply shuddered and pressed himself against the table to keep his balance.

“Dios mío, our asses are going to be toast soon, aren’t they,” Emmeline weakly joked, normally loud voice going quiet for once in the first time forever. The veins around her eyes bulged slightly, the black lines pressing out as if they were trying to escape without their owner. Lavinia swatted her before standing up straighter, swishing her skirt behind her. 

A shattering could be heard once more, only this time from the window as a large figure crashed through the window. Black fur the twinged green, although through the panicked it couldn’t be known if the color was simply the lighting or the actual tone of the fur. The paws were as large as a hand, the entire body the size of a small pony. For all the noise it had priorly made, the dog, if it could be called that, moved silently through the shop, it’s massive body moving with an unnatural grace.

“Shit, a Cu Sidhe.” Whipping their heads to the sound of the voice, the previously silent boys finally said something for the first time. An odd mixture of anise and hyacinth was wafting through the shop, and the heather scent became more putrid, its sickly sweet scent rolling away from the Cu Sidhe. ‘Pretty Boy’ grabbed something from his belt and hurled it at the dog. What was later learned to be a knife, it stuck into the fur of the dog, which sprung into action.

The rest unfrozen from their stupor broke into action. Fumbling for her bag, she grabbed her bo staff out of the bag, she jumped into the fray. Without his knife, ‘Pretty Boy’ held a red bat covered in barbed wire as he swung for the monster. The bat was clearly not a completely normal weapon, as it gave of a slight reddish pink glow. Kit had just stood on the counter top and was channeling more of his aura the pour out of his in rolls, the bluish green color flaring up around him as he poured the power into his hands and threw a ball of fire at the Cu Sidhe.

“Flank me!” Cecile shouted to be heard over the growls and blows of the weapons against the hide of the monster. Henry and Lavinia nodded at each other, Henry having summoned a blade the length of his forearm, and Lavinia’s bright green aura flaring up to protect them. The dog was moving far faster than any other creature of this world, and only through pouring in auric strength could they keep up with its movements. Kit tried to put bindings over the Cu Sidhe, but they would only last for so long before snapping under the power of the dog, ‘Pretty Boy’ only screaming incoherent things that Kit nodded along with before trying a different spell. 

Grimoire in hand, Cecile flips through the pages at rapid speed, trembling hands only making it harder for her to do so. The sounds were so loud in the background, the blows give, the pops and cracks of pure energy being released, and the snapping of the Cu Sidhe’s jaws. Finally coming to the page she wished to find, she murmured a small protection spell over herself before arranging herself ever so carefully. Henry looks back at her before nodding, flowing some of his aura into hers, the white sage scent becoming stronger.

Book in arm, she jumps straight in the air, only to hover there as the rest continue to fight. Silver aura flaring, she channels it into the circuits of the book‘s text, the writing glowing brighter and brighter each second. She threw her hand out, a wave of power shooting across the room to the Cu Sidhe. Again and again, as if in a dance rather than battle, she threw her arm forward several more times, another wave slamming into the dog more powerful than the last, binding it to the ground. She moved her arm as if she were to reach into the book, she brought the array out, forming it into a glowing net, before slamming into the Cu Sidhe’s back, crushing it to the floor.

Descending to the floor, she thrust her arm forward, a flash of light giving way to the sword Durendal, which she clutched in her hand. Normally milky silver eyes had turned into silver disks, and on her forehead her moon shaped gem glowed as well, along with the smaller stars below her eyes. In long strides, her move forward to the still snarling dog, which looked much less vicious now that it was bound to the floor. Unsheathing the sword, she murmurs a wish for forgiveness as she slashes the Cu Sidhe’s throat. Green blood spills out of the wound, soaking the floor, and the dog gives one last shuddering breath.

“So,” she says, turning to the two rather unfamiliar boys, “I suppose we should all get out of here.” She sheathes the sword much too calmly for someone who nearly got killed by a giant dog. The rest simply stared at it, Emmeline nudging the body to make sure it was actually dead and not simply lying there. ‘Pretty Boy’ helps Kit down from the counter and turns to the other group of friends.

“Hi, I assume now would be a good time to mention my name is Johnny? Um, if you would please wait for the two of us to get our stuff and change, that would be nice.” The others nod mutely as he bodily drags Kit to the employees section of the store.

“Would someone like to tell me what the hell is going on, because I surely don’t,” Emmeline says, miffed expression watching the two go as she stuffs her bo staff back into her bag summing up how the rest of them felt. Lavinia awkwardly pats her shoulder in consolation as Henry just shrugs and Cecile looks even more confused than the rest of them.

The two other boys return, Kit wearing a seafoam green sweater vest over a white shirt and the newly named Johnny wearing a pink striped sweater. Cecile wonders why she seems to focus on the exact color of the sweater vest after almost dying, but that train of thought was cut short.

“I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that we should get the hell out of here before someone else comes.” Henry nods at Johnny’s words, and turns to Cecile, the questions already in his eyes.

“Where to next? I surely assume we can’t go home, as I do believe this most likely has something to do with the string of disappearances that have happened as of late, because really, Cu Sidhe are known for kidnapping. I would hope we have somewhere to go, and on top of that, someone who wouldn’t freak out over random people at their house.” Johnny enthusiastically nodded at the last part, clinging to Kit. Cecile pondered over this for a few seconds, options passing through her head at rapid speed before settling on one.

“Jinhua Yue.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uh here are some links so that you know what their drinks look like?  
> Strawberry Latte= https://youtu.be/GK2_2dUxtLI at 3:19  
> Green Tea Tart= https://youtu.be/GK2_2dUxtLI at 6:34  
> Taro Milk Tea With Cream Cheese Foam= https://youtu.be/eA7rLywa7lM at 3:58  
> Cafe Latte = https://youtu.be/22jB40Y95MY at 1:19  
> Condensed Milk Latte = https://youtu.be/86vaxPh0cPQ  
> Rainbow Cake =https://youtu.be/7fud1ms2wGk at 2:51


	2. Eyes Wide Open in The Dark

_In the end, who would have saved him? The days bleed together, and Haku was so cold and so very, very tired. When would this pain end? If not now, then he could only hope for it to be soon. There was a figure approach, face obscured by the heavy robes that they constantly wore. He was too tired to fight back at this point, and as a glowing palm reached out to him, all he could do was steel himself for what was to come._

As the lights of the day began to fade, and dusk had become twilight, slowly did they come out from the brushes. The creeping darkness is what guided them eastward to the Yue sect through the afternoon into the evening, and as such, they lurk in the gardens of the family’s compound, largely unnoticed. Admitting the various wildlife, which even then they are wary of, the mismatch collection of high schoolers wait unnoticed until the sun is setting to finally move.

Trees speckled the interior of the compound, old branches twisting in ways one wasn’t quite sure were physically possible for nature to create, yet were appearing in front of them nonetheless. The windows of the house did not all bring light out onto the yard, as some spilt golden light out the side onto the ground in a patchwork with the others. One such window only gave off the faintest hint of light, the heavy curtains holding most of the light within the confines of the room. There is a tree next to that window, gnarled and ancient, the spidery arms brushing against the side of the house as if they are trying to push their way in.

The school children creep towards this tree, one hoisting another up onto the low hanging branches of the tree. This, of course, led her to claw her way up until she perched on a spot right outside the window of the house that the tree was trying to reach into. Staring down at her friends, they nodded at her before she moved further to knock at the window. 

Tap, tap, tap, Cecile hit the window gently enough so that it wouldn’t allow people elsewhere to hear, but the one inside the room would notice, which he did. Jinhua heard what could perhaps be the rustling of leaves against the window from the wind, except for it was too regular. Tap, tap, tap, and there it was again. He cast a glance to the window, wondering perhaps if there was someone there, except for that it was a second story building.

Tap, tap, tap, Jinhua grabbed his fan and walked to the window, to which he threw it open. Looking out he stared directly at a startled Cecile, although he wasn’t quite sure why she was startled as she was the one to try to invite herself into his house. He just sighed and cracked the fan open and fluttered it in front of him for a second before removing the window screen and beckoning her in.

“I am to assume there are more of you?” She nodded mutely to this as he sat back down, crossing his legs. He sighed once more, “bring them in.” She nodded to him as he watched her movements with unblinking eyes, making note of every movement she made, how she made it, how quickly she made it, and so on. Cecile raps her hand on the side of the windowsill, and for several minutes there is a faint rustling as person by person comes in through the window. The final person comes in, a boy he doesn’t recognize in a sweater vest of all things, making possibly the most ungrateful noise Jinhua has ever heard before standing up and looking around with a bland expression. He knows that perhaps this time he has made a mistake.

“Would our guests like any tea?” He glares at Cecile before she can get any words out. “Our actual guests. I sadly already know you and those two,” he points with his fan, “I however don’t, so they are my guests. Sit. And take off your shoes while you’re at it, you’re tracking dirt up here and I won’t stand for it.” The air of finality is clear and everyone shucks of their shoes before promptly sitting on the floor, looking rather clueless as to what to do next. 

“Um, if you would have any type of Pu-erh tea that would be nice. I feel like we are going to need a lot of caffeine to deal with this disaster. Also, he doesn’t like tea, do you perhaps have a juice box?” One of the newcomers, the blonde one with the pink tips pointed at the other one in the sweater vest. Jinhua nodded and flicked his wrist, summoning multitude of cups as well as tea, water, and a singular juice box from somewhere else.

“So, for the love of everything that has passed before us, please tell me why you have so kindly decided to stop by my room at night and bother me, hm? I am most curious about your reasoning, and if it’s not adequate I’m turning you over to mother.” With that, he set a silencing ward and stared directly at the group of now slightly terrified teenagers in front of him.

⊱ ━━━━.⋅❈⋅.━━━━⊰

“After all of this, your first thought was to come to me? I can not express how _stupid_ of an idea that is. Not only that, but you also brought two other people with you, people who I have never seen, forget having heard of them before today.” Perhaps saying Jinhua was enraged was an understatement, to say the least, the jasmine scent leaking from him turning sickly sweet.

“It’s really not as bad as it seems Jinhua,” Cecile trails off as she tries to comfort him to little avail.

“There’s a stranger sitting on my floor eating a Nutella sandwich. I feel as if I have the right to say that it is as bad as it seems.” To this Cecile deflates just a little more and Kit finally looks up again, Nutella sandwich half in his mouth. Jinhua simply sighs and waves him off, and the other boy goes back to being as engrossed in his sandwich as he was before. To the side, the rest shift uneasily, Johnny fiddling with his hair and trying to look anywhere but at Jinhua.

“Look, I know I don’t know you, like, at all, but could you please help us? We are running on fumes here, and we need all the help we can get.” Johnny all but grovels at his feet of Jinhua. At this, all Jinhua does is yawn and looks at him, still unblinking even after all this time and perhaps there was another way, but that was disrupted rather quickly.

“Your hair is loose.” Johnny just blinked at him in shock with the odd words that came out of his mouth. Everyone else was similarly disjointed with the sudden change in topic, and everyone but Johnny and Kit shifted uncomfortably, looking a bit scared among themselves. “Come here.” Beckoning Johnny over with a lazy flick of his closed fan, he grabbed a stray ribbon from his desk, the original ivory colour changing to a pale pink, the new colour bleeding out from where he had touched it until the colour consumed the entire ribbon. As Johnny sat in front of him, he pulled most of the loose ends up, albeit leaving some of the hair to brush Johnny’s neck, into a small ponytail before tying it with the ribbon.

“I’ll help you.” He nodded to himself before getting up and going to his closet. The rest still had whiplash from the quick changing of topics and even Kit was slightly off-put. Henry nudged Cecile as if trying to tell her to say something else, before promptly pretending he didn’t do so.

“Won’t your parents notice you’re… gone or something of the like?” Cecile thought she was asking a perfectly valid question, as she was concerned that her parents would have to deal with something similar themselves.

“We should be long gone by the time they figure out I’m gone. Besides I’ll leave a note, I’m not that much of an idiot mind you.” To this Cecile glared at him for a second before schooling her features to be more impassive. All she could do was sigh and rub her temples while her friends continued to drink tea on his bedroom floor.

“But won’t they think it’s suspicious? That there is a silencing ward on your room at such a time at night?” 

“I’m a teenage boy who puts a silencing ward on my room at night. Yes, very suspicious indeed,” Jinhua said rather blandly, to which Cecile just sighs. For all his impassive words, he moved in a rather hurried fashion to gather things around the room he thought he would need for a trip he didn’t entirely know the ins and outs of. Through the whole exchange, Lavinia picks at her nails, preferring to pretend that it wasn’t going on. Henry just looked as if he wished to be anywhere but here, which was rather understandable.

“How much longer do you think we should wait here? It’s not as if we are able to leave as soon as we would like, and on top of that, where exactly are we going? I haven’t the faintest idea where we should be headed to, and I am rather sure that the rest of you don’t know as well.” Once more, to no ones’ surprise, Cecile sighed and rubbed her temples. Henry pointed out valid points in their impromptu road trip.

“I suppose that we should first go to Miri, if I am correct? Or at least talk to her in some capacity, although I’m not sure what that would entail. On top of that, I do suppose we need all the locations and sects of the missing children. Seeing as most were high profile, I don’t suppose that would be too hard. And of course, we need to get said children, which, is of course, much easier said than done.” After hearing Cecile say this, Emmeline looked vaguely queasy causing Lavina to rub her back. Kit, finally done with his sandwich, looked up while licking his fingers and made a humming noise.

“Car tracker,” He simply said before burrowing his way into Johnny’s side, who patted his head. Cecile thought of this for a moment, before looking at Jinhua who rolled his eyes.

“Yes, I had my car scanned for a car tracker by a friend, and I know relatively where they are. We can leave in anywhere from three to four hours, and I’d suggest we should go east at that time. I’d like to avoid the Floinn sect very much, please and thank you. Also, we should hit a gas station, they have maps, food, and other stuff we might need while not being too big.” Both Lavinia and Cecile nodded at his words, even though looking rather uncomfortable in his presence. Henry still looked as if the walls were going to start bleeding any second, and perhaps they would, but steeped himself internally to deal with another four hours of torture.

“While I’d hate to say this, and it pains me to indefinite levels please do not doubt me, I would suggest that we sleep through this amount of time. Not all of us, as I don’t exactly trust him,” when he said this, Cecile elbowed him in the ribs hard enough to lead to a coughing fit, “but it’s going to be a long journey, and in this time Cecile and I can afford to stay awake while you sleep.”

“No offence taken, if you are wondering. I wouldn’t exactly trust a group of people with me either.” He gave a smile that was all teeth, and walked away, however not before anyone could catch the glimpse of his eyes, which betrayed no feeling and stayed dead through the entire exchange. Not for the first time that night, Johnny wonders who the hell did Cecile take them to.

⊱ ━━━━.⋅❈⋅.━━━━⊰

As time passed, the darkness grew even thicker until it blanketed the compound with its inky tendrils. Henry lent against Cecile as they stayed awake throughout the night, the two watching Jinhua who only occasionally made some rather odd noises. Johnny was slumped against the footboard of the bed, shallow breaths making the loose hairs around his face flutter. There was a sense of restless calm, like the quiet time before a storm, or an illness getting better only for it to be horribly worse the next day.

The red accents in the walls seemed to swirl slowly, and Cecile wasn’t sure if they actually did move or if she was simply incredibly tired. The hem of her shirt was getting rather worn by the end of the night, and she wasn’t sure what she would do for clothes for the following days, the ever present anxiety gnawing at her stomach. She wondered if it would fade in the upcoming weeks, but traded that worry for fiddling with her shirt once more. The creak of Jimhua’s chair as he spun put those who were awake on edge, and Cecile wasn’t sure if he did it on purpose or not, but that was something she wouldn’t put past him.

“We should go.” He said blandly, pushing himself up from the desk chair. Cecile blinked up at Jinhua, confused as to what he meant, only for him to stare back at her with the same blank expression. A hand was placed on her shoulder, this was from Henry of course, who nodded at her before raising to his feet. “Wake the others. Please.” The ‘please’ only really being added as an afterthought.

The two scurry around the room, light feet despite having the silencing ward, shaking the others awake and telling them to get their shoes. Deep down Cecile feels like a bit of an asshole for dragging her friends into all of this as she watches them rouse and slip on their shoes groggily. But, in the end, she supposed the only thing to do was to go on. If this was the only way for her to find peace, she supposed, and if perhaps she were to be lying to herself, then so be it. 

Lavina stumbles to her feet, blurry eyes looking for any signs of something gone wrong but no, it was the same. Her darling was blinking awake as well, and perhaps that meant all was well. The other pair was roused in a more uncouth manner, meaning that Henry throws a pen from Jinhua’s desk at them, causing them to jolt rather ungratefully awake.

“I hate this, I hope you know that,” Emmeline grumbles as she hops into her shoes before turning back to the rest of them. “What exactly are we doing, if I may ask? I’m sorry if I’m being impertinent, lower matriarch, but you have yet to discuss your plans with the rest of us.” Cecile nods at this, and sighs once more. She wonders how many times she has sighed today, but perhaps that is really neither here nor there. Turning to Henry, she looks expectantly at him, and his shoulders slouch as he realizes he has to explain the plan.

“I don’t see exactly why I have to do this, but I do suppose I shall do it nine the less. We shall exit through the window and go over to the car park.” Someone mumbles ‘car park?’ before getting cut off by an elbow to the stomach. “There, Jinhua will unlock his car and put it in neutral. We will then push the car down the driveway until we are on the street, and thereafter, we shall enter and be on our way. At the gas station we shall figure out how to get rid of the tracker and try to figure out the license plate issue. Any questions?” They all shake their heads and try to search for their own shoes.

“Do you really think this will work?” Emmeline whispers to Lavina, who just shrugs as she pulls her shoes on. She just flicks Lavina in the forehead and shoves her own shoes on before grabbing her bag and looking over to Cecile, who has once more opened the window.

“Out,” was all Jinhua said and threw his satchel over his shoulder, and out the window he went. Tree branches rustled as they filed down the gnarled branches one by one. The tree quivered for what seemed like ages, as it seemed to move from a wind that no other tree experienced as they school children tried their best to be as quiet as they could be.

The compound was large, with the lush, sprawling gardens seeming to stretch out in every direction and be nearly indistinguishable from one another. Cecile hoped that for once in his miserable life that Jinhua would do the right thing and lead them to where he said he would on the grounds he knew like the back of his hand. She looked over to Henry, who she could barely see in the dim lighting of the still lit bedroom above her, and took his hand and squeezed, hoping that perhaps it would turn out alright.

On the other hand, Jinhua wishes he were back in his room, but perhaps, perhaps this time will be better. He leads them through the gardens with only the weak glow of the moon to guide them, and to the garage. The little noises of the night make them jump every time they let themselves be heard. By the time they reach the car park, they are halfway out of their skin with fear and Emmeline has one hand over her mouth to keep herself from squeaking at every noise she hears.

“There.” Pointing, they can make out the shape of a white minivan, and he simply shrugs. Clicking the keys, flicks his hand at the same time to suppress the sound of the car being unlocked. He runs towards the car with as light feet as he can manage and opens the door just slightly, only enough for him to slip in and put the car in neutral. He slips out, and motions to the rest of them, who all scamper to the car and start to push it as hard as they can, which may have been an overshoot as it started to roll faster than expected. Emmeline swears under her breath as they all let up a lot.

“Keep going, we need to go about ten more yards. The gate will recognize the car.” The seven school children keep pushing, and Kit pushes perhaps a bit harder than necessary but, if they are to get out of there in a timely manner that is, no one says anything about it. The gate rapidly approaches, and it does open, with a noise however. Cecile prays that they are far away enough so that the main house can not hear them. If she pushes hard, who is to say? 

The car rolls out of the driveway and onto the road, but they keep pushing, steering it so that it is straight instead of at an awkward angle. Then, of course, the hurry to the other side and push it forward, far away from the compound. The gate shuts behind them, and Cecile wonders what she has done. They keep pushing, another five, ten, yards until they find that they simply don’t care anymore and hop in. There is a row of seats before the back row, and too much in a hurry to deal with finding out how to put them down, Henry and Cecile help Kit, Lavina, and Emmeline vault over before taking the middle row for themselves. Johnny is stuck with Jinhua and he is not sure what to make of that.

Jinhua simply sighs, and looks at them from the mirror. “So, I suppose we are to get going now? I think the east is calling us.” He smiles a smile that is all teeth once more, and in the passenger seat, Johnny is a bit afraid of him, even if he thinks he is beautiful in a strange way.


End file.
